The major reason why I don't like football is because games are generally low scoring and they can end in a tie which is a total bummer.

I wished football/soccer fans would stop creating these kind of threads. For an avid football fan like me (I'm currently watching Chelsea vs. Barcelona - go Barca!) most of the comments in these kind of threads - pro and con - make my head hurt.

@FootballFan: Like most football fans from England who feel the urgent need to try to make fun of US soccer ("supporting USA is almost a suicide"), you probably have never heard that the most successful female national team in the world is the one from USA (world champion in 1991 and 1999).

Oh wait, I forgot, women don't count, when boys discuss sports, so here's another one: the male US national soccer team is currently on FIFA world ranking #15, only 8 places behind England....

Why I don't like American football.  Not much experience with soccer.

too much testosterone, beer drinking, commercialism, and downtime. too many rednecks, low IQs, impacts, and people who just in general give it all their spare time, even if they don't play. Its just become too big without good reason. There are so many more interesting and productive and beautiful things to do in the world than follow the crowd and participate in such a remedial activity. Especially if you are sitting in the stands.

If you play it, it's a bit different, but only in some ways. If you are a professional strategist, then there are also some key take aways.

Most fans, however, treat a game as if it is the highlight of their week. A highlight that next year won't matter in their life. (a reason I don't like "watching" many sports in general.) Their involvement and excitement is so great for something that matters so little to their lives and development.

But I'm sure for most of society, they find all of this their ideal environment, living a constant cycle until they die. As someone who is into math, music, art, theater, physics, etc. I must admit that I might be a little biased. Sorry, this was so negative, but you did ask.

You know, it's this kind of attitude that pisses me off on both sides. On the jock side, you have them attacking the geeks and stereotyping all those who play videogames past Madden and its ilk as losers who live in basements and can't get laid. On the geek side, you have them viewing all sports fans as little more than steroid-fueled troglodytes who spend their nights date-raping women while smashing beer cans on their heads.

Hmmm... Yesterday I went to an art museum and then settled in to watch the Brewers play after I was done. I also read a little Dickens afterward before going out to close the bars and get shitfaced.

I never knew my life was supposed to be so constrained. Apparently this is a war and I should choose a side.

some of you have been falling into stereotypes here,

i love video games and sci-fi and anime

but, i love many sports too

i think its nonsense to say you cant like both nerdy or geeky stuff and sports, as i love both, maybe im just a freak of nature though, lol

I understand why you might be frustrated Rocketpig. I do have a tendency to generalize in order to see similarities and potential connections with things. You have to admit that American football, while it can be enjoyed by many people for different reasons, does attract some pretty mindless fans. I'm not saying anybody cannot enjoy relaxing while watching a game of some sport, but in general, sports fans are a great representation for the masses and the masses generally aren't too interested in doing anything outside their general mold.

I must say that if Wal-mart wasn't such a necessity at times, I would probably look at it with similar distaste. Of course, I'm not trying to be 100% accurate in these posts, these are mainly my feelings and what I conjecture might be why I might feel the way I do. It's not necessarily that the sport is popular, but rather what constitutes it being popular, the result of it being popular, and its method of becoming popular that irks me. That and most schools overfund their sports program due to its superficial benefits while taking funds away from other more educationally key departments. Why does the sports program even have such weighty advantages with the population?  What did it do to "earn" that right?

Another thing I find funny is that when somebody likes a pro athlete, they might try to be like them. But when someone likes an actor, most people wouldn't dare try to become a good actor. It might put their masculinity and popularity into question or something. A lot of these feelings and trends are passed down through parents and reinforced by peers though, I know.

Again, not trying to be entirely logical yet, as my feelings are getting in the way on this issue at this time.

 Firstly, i didnt make fun of US soccer i made fun of US football. (World definition see football.)  Also those football rankings are not greatly reliable. Im not sure if you are aware but the its based on Ranking points and they are largly decided by how many wins you get. USA i believe play in the CONCACAF which is very poor standard of FOOTBALL. CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) is the continent-wide governing body for football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. Three South American entities, the independent nations of Guyana and Suriname, and the French department of French Guiana, are also members.   These countries standards are nothing short of embarrasing compared to the quality of FOOTBALL Europeans have come to expect. USA may be high on the rankings but when you consider there monthly oposition its no suprise at all.

Also i would like to see France play against Croatia. Looking at the ranking though Croatia should be able to win so.... 

I see there is no need to hate Football it is the most watched and loved game in the world.

The Americans do not like Football because they believe it would become more popular than their sports they created in their own countries: Grid Iron, Baseball and Basketball, etc. The Americans call Football soccer which sounds like sucker when you hear their accents. The game is called Football in all countries in the world except for a few countries: US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Football is the most popular played and watched sport in the world. The Football World Cup held once every four years attracts more supporters and followers than the Olympic Games.

Football fans follow their team like a religion. It makes the console wars on here look very small and irrelevant in comparison. Extreme football fans (hooligans) will riot, fight or even kill rival fans. The police have stepped up in trying to keep law and order. There are CCTVs every where trying to stamp out the violence and trouble from rival fan conflicts.

If we're going to get pissy over a stupid word, more people in more English-speaking nations refer to it as "soccer".

Since we're on an English-speaking board, the "real" word is "soccer".

So there. Can we get over it already? We all know what everyone is talking about here. Semantics don't matter one damned bit.

The bolded makes no sense. Americans haven't latched onto soccer because they have all those other sports. There is only so much room for competing products to be successful. With Americans, there is a long tradition of baseball and football while basketball has gone in and out of the mainstream for the past 40 years.

There simply isn't space for soccer. With modern satellite television, the internet, etc. soccer has gained some popularity but so have a million other sports like MMA, NASCAR, etc.

It's not as if we're "scared" of soccer, it's just not a part of our national persona. Baseball and football occupy those places traditionally while most of the rest of the world played soccer. There is no grand conspiracy here, that's just the truth of the matter.